Death of the Smashers
by CEObrainz
Summary: "Who could have done this?"
1. Chapter 1

As one dies another lives, a cycle that never ends.

It was yet another cold and depressing day as the Smashers got onto the coach. It had only been a few days since the first death had occurred. A cleaner, one of the staff hired by the Smash Bros Corporation, had clumsily walked into Ganondorf's room, tripping onto a replica of the sword used in his attempted execution. The white blade had killed the young woman instantly. Sheik, who had been unfortunate enough to be in the area, heard the faint groan of the woman and moved towards the scene. The cleaner's blood slowly staining the polished blade made Sheik feel nauseated, the Smasher instantly went to get help. While it had been an accident and the staff had been warned of these things, the family of the recently departed had not quite seen it as the Smash Bros Corporation did. They decided to sue Master Hand for everything he and the members of the Smash Corporation had. It was this action that drove Nintendo to hold an emergency meeting with the company and it was decided that all the Smashers would be brought to a single location away from the Smash Mansion so that press could be avoided, the safety of all-stars being of up-most importance.

It was quite rare that all the participants of the Smash Bros tournaments got together and one could only imagine the chaos that would ensure. However on this day, everyone seemed to get along as the driver of the coach, Master Hand, was in his human form. The younger smashers, all wearing regular clothing, where chatting about their favourite games and the villains, were sitting at the back, taking it upon themselves to oversee that no one stepped out of line, for if they did they where ready to pounce on them, hoping for a bit of action. However it was mostly calm as the death of the cleaner was still fresh on everybody's minds.

Marth who was nearer the front got up, with the intention of asking Master Hand something that had also been in his mind for quite a while.

"Master Hand, why are you in your human form and why were we forbidden to take our weapons or armour with us…not that it's hard to guess why?"

The man motioned for Marth to sit back down and picked up the on-board microphone. Tapping the mouthpiece once to test it still worked, Master Hand coughed slightly to gain everyone's attention.

"Good morning Smashers. I want to thank you for boarding quickly and in a sensible manner. I understand that there are a few of you who are still in the dark about what is happening today. For starters let me explain that this is not, and will not be a holiday for you people."

Some of the Smashers groaned quietly.

"We will be attending a conference regarding the future of the Smash Bros tournaments and I expect you to act like normal civilians for the duration of this trip." with that, he looked directly at the back of the coach.

"So….why can't you go on our behalf?" Wolf growled, not liking the fact that he couldn't do anything to Fox while on this trip. He glared challengingly at Master Hand.

Some of the other Smashers agreed with the question and started voicing their concerns aloud.

"Without me at the mansion, the press can infiltrate the building and no one other staff is trained to deal with both them and you. The remaining staff have also been given paid leave after the incident and do you remember what happened the last time I left you alone with Crazy Hand?" Master Hand's voice dropped slightly, a hint of annoyance forming on his face.

Everyone instantly quietened.

No one needed reminding. Tabuu had almost escaped from his Trophy form and Ike almost died capturing him. Link and Bowser still had the scars from that battle.

"We will be staying at a five star resort, courtesy of Nintendo of America, however this resort is not our home, so I urge you to be on your best behaviour or you will face the consequences."

Everyone looked towards the floor nodding simultaneously.

Master Hand sat back down and started up the engine. By now everyone was familiar with the technology on earth and had accepted it into their daily lives. The coach pulled away from the land that belonged to the Smash Bros Corporation and started travelling towards their destination.

After an hour or so of driving, Ike got up after having a conversation with Mario and quickly walked over to where Marth was sitting.

"Hey Marth, did you know that the other Smashers from Melee were asked to attend this meeting?"

Marth's eyes widened.

"Really? So that means that we may see Roy again. I just hope he is ready to join us again..." Marth's eyes saddened, it wasn't usually in Ike's nature to pry into other peoples personal lives but he felt like he was missing something big.

"What happened?" Ike said in a hushed voice.

Marth tried to speak, but he found that his voice denied him.

Shiek, who has been sitting behind the two, leaned forward and tapped Ike on the shoulder, whispering into his ear.

"During the days of the Melee competition, Roy was a very enthusiastic spirit, however one day he received news that his father had been murdered. After that day he had changed, he never really smiled like he used to and spent long amounts of time in his room. Then one day he just decided to pack up and leave. He left a note saying he was going back to his kingdom and he wouldn't be coming back. Everyone was sad, but Marth took it the hardest, they were the best of friends."

Sheik took a moment to breathe, however Marth finished off the tale.

"I asked Master Hand for permission to go visit Roy and when I got there, Roy was broken. In fact I'd never seen him like that. It turned out that his father was still alive but was missing. I believe all these occurrences messed up Roy, especially the immediate responsibility of looking after the Kingdom. I contacted Link, Shiek, Zelda and Young Link asking them to help us search for Roy's father. After about two week of searching we finally found him in an old castle, being held prisoner by some rouge mercenaries. We battled long and hard, eventually overpowering them and we freed Roy's father. However it was too late, the damage had been done and he was already dying. His last words to Roy, I didn't hear but Roy hasn't contacted us since. He just thanked us and asked us to leave."

Ike paused to take this all in, he knew Roy was a close friend of Marth's and he had received neglect from the Prince the first week he joined Brawl as Roy's supposed replacement. But this was a bond he never would have expected the two to share.

"I'm sure he will be fine. When I witnessed the death of my father I was all over the place, but I eventually composed myself and eventually got on with my life. I believe he will be pleased to see you."

Marth smiled at Ike and patted his shoulder.

"Thanks," Marth replied, getting out of his seat and stretching. A smile formed on his face quickly.

"I wonder if Ness still has them sweets I tried the other day, they were heavenly!"

And with that, Marth took off, leaving Shiek and Ike to laugh at Marth's ability to change moods so quickly.

Everyone on the coach got excited when news of the old smashers coming back surfaced around. Even the villains were looking forward to meeting Mewtwo again. Talk of discussions that needed to be concluded and battles that needed to be fought where the only things on the Smashers minds as the coach neared its destination.

By now Ness had already dared Toon Link to hit on Samus, not knowing she could hear them through hear earphones. Toon called her pretty and Samus gave him a kiss on the cheek, playing along with the game. Seeing this, Snake decided to try his luck with the bounty hunter, wanting to see if he had any chance of getting with Samus. That all ended quickly however, when all he got was a playful punch to the face and a promise to castrate him with a spoon. Snake went back to his seat, much to the amusement of the back half of the coach.

As the coach reached the resort everyone was in slight shock. The brochure that everyone had read showed a picture of a very lush hotel with gold trimmings everywhere. The place they saw now was comparable to an old grey hospital. The walls were plain in colour, looking like a blank canvas waiting to be painted on. No windows could be seen from the front, however the building was an odd shape; a series of interconnected cylinders hidden from the view where the Smashers were standing. They all got off the coach and collected their luggage. Someone was already waiting to greet them.

"Hello guest's my name is David, welcome to the Lavender Palace Resort Hotel."

The smashers gazed in shock as a team of porters took their luggage and headed towards the hotel.

The staff here were surprisingly efficient.

Master Hand walked in front of the Smashers.

"I will be leaving you now; the location of the meeting is quite a distance from here. I shall be back in two days at the most. I want to see the hotel still standing by the time I get back. Do you understand Snake?"

Master Hand gazed at the super soldier who admittedly flinched, stepping backwards and putting his hands up in defence.

He gave the keys to the coach to one of the porters standing outside and with that the Hand seemingly vanished. David didn't seem surprised at all, although there were much weirder beings in the group.

"This is going to suck!" Toon Link stated.

Zelda hit Toon Link, shocking the smaller boy.

"Watch your mouth!" her eyes fixed on the boy.

Link, who had not been with the rest of the group but had already been at the Hotel with Luigi walked towards Zelda and gave her a quick hug.

"Hey guys don't look so down, the inside is completely different from the outside and you'll love the preparations that Luigi and I arranged. I even got that Onion scented room for Wario!"

Wario suddenly perked up and smiled happily, he was going to enjoy his stay here.

"And can you believe they even supplied needles for Sh-"

Zelda placed one of her fingers against Link's lips, effectively silencing him.

"I think it would be better if we headed in, I'm starting to get cold." She said evasively of Link's previous comment before whispering to him, "Some of the others still haven't finished Ocarina of Time yet."

She pointed to the doors as they started to open, getting everyone's attention.

Luigi called from the front door and called everyone in. He waved to Mario and Peach and went through the doors.

"Let's go then!" David advised, "If you'll be kind enough to follow me, we'll get you checked in quickly."

It didn't take long but everyone eventually entered the main reception room, the inside of the hotel was certainly different from what they had previously seen. The walls were painted a mahogany wood colour and smelled of pine-cones. The floor was covered in a luxury red carpet, stylized with angels everywhere. It was amazing how the inside and outside greatly contrasted each other. The Smashers would have been confused if it weren't for the fact that the old Smashers were ready to greet them.

"ROY!"

"MARTH!"

The two warriors rushed towards each other and started wrestling playfully. After a minute or two, when they realized everyone was still watching them, they regained their composure.

"Roy, I want you to meet Ike, Meta-Knight, King Dedede, Wario, Diddy Kong, Wolf, ROB, Lucas, Sonic, Snake, Lucario, Pokémon Trainer and Toon Link."

Marth paused to breath.

"Guys this is my friend Roy."

Everyone greeted the red head.

Three other people popped up behind Roy.

"Hello I'm-a Dr. Mario, at-a your service."

"Hi I'm Pichu!"

"I'm Young Link or Young for short."

Toon Link walked up to the other Link. They both looked at each other, mirroring each other's movement.

"Awesome!" both Link's said at the same time.

Link and Ganondorf swore silently.

":..Double the trouble now..."

A few of the older Smashers laughed at this; however Ganondorf wasn't pleased at all. There were now three Links's who could kill him, or at least get in his way, seeing as none of them were carrying a blade of evil's bane.

Shortly after the reunion, the smashers got checked in and were guided to a room with food already laid out for them. Most if not all the smashers salivated over the banquet that was there for them, a feast fit for a league of Kings. Everybody was about to rush towards the table, when the blue aura Pokémon stopped them.

"Wait, aren't we missing someone?"

Everyone looked around, trying to figure out who it was when suddenly Luigi and Roy figured it out at the same time.

"Mewtwo!" they shouted in unison.

"I forgot to tell you, Mewtwo was here but he left to go be on his own, he asked me to get him when you arrived, but I must have been caught up with the moment. I'm not sure where he could have gone, so if you don't mind we could all look for him, it'd be faster that way."

"Where was he staying?" Peach stepped forwards, receiving a courteous bow from Roy.

"Oh...right. I forgot about that...hehehe..." he stepped backwards and started moving towards one of the halls. "He should be in room 024; I think I remember him saying he wanted to stay in that particular room."

The others stayed behind as Sonic quickly ran away and came back with a note. He handed it to Roy and went off exploring.

"Hmm…the note says that Mewtwo doesn't want to come to dinner but will meet us during desert." Roy looked upwards at the group chuckling a little, "It's strange though. I've never seen him write before; I wonder what made him do it now."

"That explains one thing, but where is he now?" Bowser asked in anticipation.

Roy looked at the note again. "It doesn't say a thing about where he went!"

Nana, Ness and Young Link started walking away. Ness turned to the others and waved to get their attention.

"We are going to check out the rooms quickly….We'll catch up with you later!"

The trio disappeared quickly as everyone else filed into the dining room. Kirby was tempted to eat everything if it weren't for the watchful eye of Captain Falcon and Ganondorf. The Smashers sat down and started feasting without thought of the missing Smashers. At the centre of the table, a white cake the size of Wario stood magnificently with red ice trimmings and several layers of fruit on top. Gold icing was used to write the words '**_In morte bellum nostrum prosequitur_**_'. T_he cake smelt so heavenly Luigi could swear he saw a tear on Mario's face.

Young Link used his key-card to open the room with the number 177.

"The hotel staff has given us the ability to open each other's rooms. In case of emergencies they said…" The green clad Hero sniggered as if he was planning some sort of prank already.

"Wow….!" Ness said to himself. Young Link's room was equipped with an archery station and was painted the colour green, specifically with engravings of the Triforce everywhere."

"This must have cost quite a bit…" Nana mused aloud.

"Yea…I think it did. Link said that if I practice my archery skills more, one day I'll be as good as him."

"Hmm…..that reminds me. Why didn't you come to Brawl?"

Young Link paused, a smile on his face.

"Because my friend, I was on a journey of epic proportions to become the Hero of Termina!" He explained to his friends, putting extra care into mentioning every detail, how he battled his way to defeat the evil Majora and claiming the Mask of the Fierce Deity.

"Wow, that sounds amazing!" both Nana and Ness exclaimed. Ness saw a fruit bowl next to Young Link's bed and picked up a glossy apple. He ran over to the archery range and placed the apple on his head, taking off his hat so it would balance properly.

"Try and hit this apple if you can…Hero!" Ness challenged.

Young Link looked between Nana and Ness, knowing that Ness was asking him to do a dangerous thing. He sighed, knowing he would do anything to impress Nana, especially when she was in the room. He collected his bow and a few arrows that he had stashed under his bed.

"I thought we weren't allowed weapons?" Nana asked.

"We're not, but I sneaked them inside. Link seemed perfectly calm when he found out. I guess it's why he arranged for the archery range. Plus the hotel gave me a complimentary Bow and set of Arrows anyway. I just prefer to use my own set." Young Link explained.

Young Link smiled at Nana, trying to look cool and show off. She shrugged and sat on one of the chairs wanting to get a good view of the spectacle.

"You ready Ness?"

"Go ahead already!"

The Smashers had finished their first and second courses, or in Wario's case, his fifth. Everyone was looking forward to desert. Sonic had made his way back and was feasting on a plate of Chilly Dogs. Everyone started with the smaller desert items but Bowser had his eyes only for the cake.

"Seeing as I'm the King Koopa and the biggest person here…I suggest I get the first slice of cake!"

Some of the smasher sniggered whilst others groaned.

"That may be true but Kirby's stomach is technically infinite…" Metaknight stated in a factual tone.

"Who writes Latin on a cake anyway?" Snake asked no one is particular.

"What does it say?" Peach asked, wondering if she could make a cake that looked as good as this one.

"Umm….nothing important, just some corporate message I think."

Bowser however wasn't listening to the others talking, only pulling the cake closer to him. He picked up a huge knife and prepared to cut the cake.

Young Link lined up the shot and was feeling slightly worried. He didn't want to miss or hit Ness but he wanted to impress Nana. Letting his childish nature take over, Young Link let go of the arrow and it sailed through the air and pinned the apple to the wall.

"Awesome now do it again, but with the other bow and arrow!"

Young Link now hyped on a dose of adrenalin put away his Hero's Bow and took out the Hotel set. He tested the arrow on his finger, putting a little pressure to prick his finger. The arrow was not as sharp as Hyrulian standard, but would still do the trick. He lined up the shot, turning to Nana to smile at her incredulously.

"Ready… Ness?"

"Yep, just don't miss. I like my head the way it is!" Ness joked. Nana chuckled a little bit, much to the envy of Young Link. He stood straight trying to look as much as a Hero as he could with his small frame. He smiled at Nana and closed his eyes….releasing the arrow."

Bowser cut the cake using a knife laid down specifically for the cake. He tested the knife on his scales and was surprised to see the blade split his scales. Using the knife with a surgeon's precision, Bowser cut off an unexpectedly small slice, placing it onto his paw. The juices from the red fruit flowing down the sides of the cake onto Bowser's paw; he didn't waste time in placing the piece in his mouth, trying to chew the delicacy but immediately chocking, spitting the chunk of cake onto the table.

"Bleh….no cake can be this bad!" The Koopa shouted, annoyed that such a wonderful looking cake tasted rubbery and like skin.

The entire room was silent, however not one person was looking at Bowser but instead at the chuck of cake on the table.

"Is…that..?"

Nana's voice could be heard screaming from afar, immediately Popo who was still looking at the table stood up. His face had turned slightly green but Nana's voice had taken his mind off of the cake.

Bowser was still confused only just hearing the scream over his ranting.

"What…was th-…huh? What's this?" Bowser said looking at the chunk of cake he spit out, everyone was eyeing Browsers hand carefully as he scraped away a layer of cake to reveal half of Mewtwo's face.


	2. Chapter 2

Silence.

That was all the group could manage right now. The gaze from the elite fighters studying the cake, hoping it was nothing but a joke taken too far. Although their hopes were in the right place, the King of the Koopas knew what he'd just put in his mouth. It wasn't the first time he'd eaten something that had just been alive.

Upon closer inspection the juice wasn't completely red; it had small bubbles of blood, dark purple in colour, secreting from the sliced Pokémon's head. The skin of the physic creature was dry and rough, having been cooked under the intense heat of an oven. The one eye that was looking towards Bowser was blank, yet holding a lingering amount of fear, an uncommon trait for the once powerful Pokémon.

"Is...that...really...Mew-" Ganondorf started before being interrupted by the sound of small jet bursts, which echoed around the room.

"Great acoustics..." Wario murmured to himself, unheard by the others in the room.

A series of beeps then came from a doorway, Mr Game and Watch could be seen walking towards the table if you were at the right angle. He was closely followed by ROB, the two had not been at the feast as they didn't require food.

"As Mr Game and Watch is saying, we can confirm that the presence in that cake is indeed Mewtwo." ROB's electronic voice resonated.

Suddenly the room filled with outrage, each smasher having a question, then another...some were pointing, most were shouting, a few crying and others had lost themselves in the madness and cowered.

As the chaos continued the group didn't notice when Popo slipped out the room, Sonic rushing after him. Both ROB and Mr Game and Watch then turned to leave, the 2D warrior wearing a deerstalker hat.

"QUIET!" Snake's voice was loud and rough, he had smuggled in a flask of imported whiskey and was getting irritated that he couldn't enjoy his drink in peace.

"Nothing will get sorted if everyone voices their opinions at once," he spoke trying to avoid looking at the head which Bowser had dropped on the table.

"So...who did it?"

No one had spoken yet everyone asked the same question.

The silence was thick, causing a spooked Luigi to start sweating a bit more than usual, something that didn't go unnoticed by some of the other Smashers.

"I wonder where the staff went..." Samus mused aloud.

She had been sitting between Snake and Pikachu, her eyes distant yet focused.

"We've been making all this noise but not once has any staff come to check on us."

"Is that really important?" Captain Falcon asked.

"Just something I wondered," she replied, her voice drifting away much like her thoughts.

"She makes a good point," Marth spoke up, "I mean this is a hotel, yet there are no other guests. The staff appeared out of nowhere to collect our bags and I haven't seen them since."

"So..." Olimar spoke up, his Helmet secured tightly to his suit. "What's that got to do with the dead Pokémon we have on the table?"

"That's a little blunt don't you think?" Kind Dedede asked, nudging him slightly.

"Coming from you that's rich!" Olimar scoffed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" the self-proclaimed King stood up, easily towering over the Hoctatian warrior.

Mario was quick to stand up, moving from his place between Luigi and Peach, to try and prevent the argument from escalating. He didn't even manage to take a step before Bowser spoke out, stopping him in his tracks.

"Not so fast Mario, why so quick to act? Perhaps you're scared we'll find out _you're _the one that did Mewtwo in?"

"What!" Mario exclaimed, "Why would I do it?"

"We all know you have a grudge against Mewtwo, he joined us for Melee and was instantly more popular than you!"

"Jealous? Me? Over that Brawl reject?"

"Woah! I wasn't in Brawl, does that make me a reject?" Dr Mario asked.

"Yes" Wario promptly replied.

"Don't talk to me, you over weight Mario wannabe!" Dr Mario glared at Wario.

"Looks who's talking, you literally have Mario in your name!" Wario taunted, seemingly having fun.

"Um...guys..." Luigi tried to cut in.

"NOT NOW LUIGI!" the 3 mushroom characters growled.

"As I was saying!" Bowser started again, "I bet Mario was the one that did it, and he's been looking _real _shifty lately."

"I didn't do it, you're the one with the flame breath!" Mario countered.

"If I did it, I wouldn't have tried to eat the cake...although now that I've mention it, it didn't taste so bad."

The room groaned in disgust, the sound of someone gagging could clearly be heard.

"What? I have a distinguished taste!" he defended, raising his shoulders as if it weren't a big deal.

It was then that Peach stood up, having not said a word since it all started. Everyone knew that she cared for the whole roster of the Smash Bros Corporation, even the villains. Wearing casual clothes, especially for a princess, one wouldn't have thought she was royalty. If it weren't for the tears that had been streaking down her face, she would have looked like an average girl, out with her boyfriend.

"It...can't be Mario," she whimpered, finding it hard to talk, "he wouldn't do such a thing, he's had the chance to kill you Bowser in the past before but he always lets you go."

"There's always a first for everything," Bowser countered.

"Plus Mario didn't deny the shifty behaviour." Wario thought to add, before looking at Bowser and nodding in unison.

"He was going to propose!" Peach raised her voice, something that rarely occurred.

The room collectively gasped. The news wasn't shocking, in fact is was rather predictable but they were surprised nonetheless.

"How...did you know?" Mario asked, his voice suddenly soft.

"You were never good at keeping secrets, plus your hat collection is a terrible place to hide things," she replied managing a small smile.

"Peach..." Mario uttered, slightly touched.

"Aww, how cute!" King Dedede croaked, clearly annoyed, "how about we celebrate with a nice big cake...oh wait, there's a freaking head in it!"

"He's got a point," Snake said, "We need to take things seriously and analyse the situation."

"It was probably Lucario," Falco spoke up, "He was clearly afraid that Mewtwo would replace him in the next tournament."

"Yea, you do seem awfully quiet...Lucario" Wolf spoke, directly across the table from the aura Pokémon.

Lucario grunted, standing up. For a few moments he didn't speak, then he raised his paw pointing at the entrance.

"If I'm so guilty, why is Luigi making his way to the door?"

The room turned to face Luigi who was indeed by the door, he had been creeping this whole time and paused as his name was spoken.

"Eh...oops," he murmured.

"Luigi!" Mario shouted, starting to believe his brother was the killer.

"I...uh..."

That was all Luigi could muster before he fainted.

"Guilty..." Wario said, placing a handful of fried onion rings in his mouth.

The room erupted again in a heated discussion, half of the smashers defended Luigi whilst the others wanted to prevent any further deaths, using immediate action.

The argument would have continues if it weren't for Jigglypuff who started singing, some of the Smashers realised at the last second and tried to cover their ears but it was too late. The room was out and Jigglypuff was the only person awake.

* * *

Three young smashers were frozen in place and of those three, only two could freely move.

Some injuries could be recovered from, a broken bone, burnt hand even a lost limb wouldn't kill you. But when an arrow pierces your skull, there is little that can be done to stay alive.

Ness was indeed dead.

Young Link blinked once, then twice, even a third time just to make sure.

This couldn't be happening, right?

Nana's scream not only snapped the young hero to his senses it brought great shame to him. He knew from the moment he released that arrow that he hadn't compensated for the extra weight of the arrowhead. The young boy who had once bested an entire force of extra-terrestrial creatures in one night was now staring at the corpse of a boy he wouldn't have hesitated to call his friend.

"You...killed him!" Nana screamed, her eyes were fixated on the arrow, no other part of her body moving.

"It...was...an accident," Young Link replied, "I didn't meant it!"

"What do you mean you didn't _mean _to kill Ness!" her voice was on the verge of breaking down, it was well known that there was something going on between Ness and Nana. It had started shortly after the third tournament began, when Young Link wasn't around.

The boy dressed in a casual combo of a green t-shirt and light blue jeans turned to face Nana, the bow still in his hands.

"I don't know how it happ-" he tried to argue but Nana promptly cut him off.

"Don't point that thing at me!" she shrieked, causing Young Link to instinctively drop the weapon and raise his hands to show he meant no harm. "Don't even come close to me...you're...a murdered,"

Whilst her last words were nothing but a whisper, their impact was enough to shock Young Link. He looked into the young girls eyes, seeing nothing but a pool of fear with the reflection of the young hero in green.

He'd slain countless creatures before, monsters, demons, sea creatures and evil deities but never another human. It didn't help that Young Link knew he shouldn't have been wielding a weapon, even if it was for non-malicious purposes.

He couldn't help himself when he ran.

He had to be somewhere else, not where he could see the tears streaming down Nana's face, where her cry shattered his heart a thousand times , forcing him to take responsibilities for his actions.

"Fate isn't on your side boy"

Young Link stopped, by now he had ran far enough that he was breathing heavily. He looked around but there was no one nearby.

Had he really heard someone speak?

The voice was familiar, as if he had heard it many times before.

"Some partings are meant to last forever..."

Young Link turned around.

"Who'd there!" he shouted, his voice echoing down the hallway.

Not leaving things to change, Young Link started pacing down the hallway. He though he had recognised the voice, the thought of _that _ man still creeping him out to this very day.

"I did what you wanted!" Young Link shouted, his voice getting lost in the ever-expanding hallways.

By not Young Link couldn't tell where he was. The doors had long stopped displaying numbers, every wall looked the same, every turn had the same number of furnishings.

Am I going in a circle?

"I'm not here for that," the voice spoke again, making the young boy run faster, "You know you shouldn't have done what you did back there."

"It wasn't my fault!" Young Link exclaimed.

"What's not your fault?"

Young Link couldn't completely stop as he ran into a person, falling back onto the floor.

"Oops, are you okay honey?" the voice of the lady asked.

Young Link looked up, gasping at what he saw. The woman, dressed in a maid outfit, looked back at the young boy with a warm smile on her face. Both her strikingly sharp blue eyes and her hair which was a unique shade of red, reminded Link of a certain ranch manager he had met in his troubles.

Not having known his mother, Young Link wasn't too attached to adults or their motives, but the interactions with that particular woman had left quite the impression on him. Perhaps it was all the time he spent there, helping out on the farm or the guilt he'd failed to protect the cows, but that woman was the closest thing he had to a mother. It didn't help that his mind had never truly gotten over the word he had seem, life in its rawest and truthful form.

"What's wrong dear?" she asked again.

Even her voice matched that woman, were they really the same person?

Young Link looked at her ears which were round. He didn't know whether he was relieved or disappointed that she wasn't the same person. Someone who wouldn't treat him any different whether he was boy, a foreigner or even a murderer.

But could he really tell her that he killed someone?

The thought of her looking at him with Nana's eyes crushed him. The tears not holding back, falling to the floor like a shower of raindrops in the night. He didn't stop when she embraced him, telling him words of comfort or even when she started leading him away, always with that warm smile on her face.

It must have been her. Young Link wanted that to be true, he thought to himself that if everything he had done really happened then he would be able to go forward if she was there with him. Maybe the scars of time had never left him, the tears of failure staining his soul or the tragedy of others twisting his mind. But deep down, he knew he was just a kid, someone who wanted a normal life with a mother and father, perhaps some friends too.

Maybe that was why he allowed the familiar woman to lead him away, just for now she could act as his mother, for better or worse.

* * *

Popo had been running, it was a long time since he had left the dining room.

_Where are all the staff?_

The place was quiet, way too quiet for a hotel.

It was then that Popo realised things had changed. The hallways were strangely dark, very little lighting from the chandeliers placed about.

_I thought I saw LED's before?_

Popo was confused but didn't want to focus on that now. He had to find Nana, he distinctively remembered hearing her scream. Only her sister could shriek like that, a sound that use to pierce the fiercest winds back home. Popo regretted asking for help, he knew that if there was trouble that he was one of the worst suited for hand to hand combat.

_Maybe Snake or Samus, even Ganondorf would have been useful. No! They would all be occupied with...that._

Popo shook his head, trying to not think about what he had seen. It was too frightening a thought, someone he'd known in the past suddenly appearing in such a way.

_Am I lost?_

The sound of his footsteps echoed on the marble floor, muffled whenever he ran over a stretch of carpet.

_I swear the reception was this way..._

Popo stopped running for a moment, looking around to see if anything was familiar to him.

"Nana!" he screamed at the top of his voice.

There was no response.

He called out again, moving down the hallway slowly.

Although he wouldn't admit it, Popo was rather scared. He didn't feel safe without his hammer and knowing his sister was in potential danger only made things worse.

The hallway stretched onwards, every passing moment the silence grew heavier, whispering secrets that none could hear. It was getting darker, colder and time was seemingly slowing down, that much Popo could tell.

_This isn't a normal hotel isn't it?_

Popo sighed to himself, he remembered that Young Link and Ness had been with his sister. Knowing the relationship Nana had with the two boys, he hoped that they would be there to protect her if anything did happen.

_Were they really this far away?_

"Ness! Young Link! Are any of you there!" he shouted again, hoping at least one of them would hear.

His voice echoed slightly, fading down the deep, twisting hallway. He thought back to the moment he heard Nana's voice at the table, it almost seemed impossible that she was _this _far away.

Without noticing, a form had started following Popo. It moved silently, dragging its feet along the floor. The small shadow managed to follow the male ice climber silently for the length of a hallway until one of its trainers squeaked against the polished marble.

"Who's there!" Popo jumped, he really wasn't a fan of horror movies.

Popo turned round, he instantly saw the figure of a familiar face but the lighting was so bad he couldn't tell for sure if it was him.

"Ness is that you?" he asked with a shred of hope, "Where is Nana? You won't believe what happened back at the dining room..."

His voice trailed off as the boy stepped into the light.

The red liquid was flowing down his forehead. The wound stifled the flow but the wooden shaft of an arrow was soaked. Splotches of blood had fallen on his white shirt, like the start of a painting on a blank canvas.

"Uh...are you okay Ness?" Popo asked, stepping backwards in shock.

The body of Ness didn't stop moving, it's head was looking at the ground, leaving a trail of blood as it walked. The eyes were blank, at least until Popo had just spoken. They looked at Popo with both shock and murderous intent.

"P...S...I...Flash..."

The voice was unreal. Not only did it not sound like Ness, the heaviness of his words made Popo's bones shake. He couldn't help feeling psyched out by this phenomenon. He stepped back again, only to realise he couldn't feel his legs anymore. For a second he checked to see if they were still there, confirming that they'd just gone numb, only to look up and see the cold stare of Ness right in front of him.

Popo knew not to cry in situations like this, he had been in more dangerous situations before, but this was different. Something foreign, supernatural, or perhaps alien was controlling his thoughts, emotions and even his body.

_Is this Ness' true power?_

"Heal..." the voice within Ness spoke again, "Healing...time..."

First it was the legs, then the arms. Popo couldn't feel his body but for some reason he knew his internal organs were failing him. If it weren't for the sound of Popo whimpering, he would have thought that his hearing had gone too.

Then everything went black.

"P...S...I...Magnet..."

* * *

Sonic wasn't having that great of a time, he's ran after Popo only to lose him. Speeding down the hallways, he thought he'd have mapped the whole complex in mere moments.

"This place is bigger than I thought." he spoke aloud, dashing down another hallway.

As he reached one end, another two routes appeared. Whenever he turned round, there were three paths to take. The place seemed to be growing, messing with him or perhaps he was seeing things.

"I need a vacation..."


	3. Chapter 3

_Mortem omnibus qui contra iustitiam_

Those words were painted in red, desecrating the white wallpaper that decorated the walls. Each character was perfectly drawn, no wasted ink at all. Sonic stopped and reread the text several times before deciding he couldn't understand Latin. He looked closer at the message written on the wall and paused when he noticed the characters were written in blood.

"How...cliché," Sonic sighed, "I wonder who wrote this though."

The blue hedgehog continued to run, going up several flights of stairs and finding himself in an empty area. It was dark, so much that you couldn't see any walls or judge how big this floor was. The mixture of metal and wooden beams indicated that the attic-like area was still being renovated. Somehow small cracks of light found their way into the room, illuminating the dust that fell from the ceiling; a soft faint colour like the first snowfall of the year.

Sonic walked forwards, annoyed that he couldn't tell where he was going. He'd already decided that he wouldn't turn back, finding his friends plus the others was his first priority. He also thought that he couldn't go back; not only did he forget the exact route he took, he also came to the conclusion that the roads behind him were changing. Whether it was magic or some sort of advanced technology it didn't matter, but he still needed to get help.

"Hello!" Sonic shouted, his voice echoing several times before fading away.

As he expected there was no response. He looked at the ceiling and thought about attempting to break through it, but he feared the repercussions more than the seriousness of the situation; Master Hand may have seemed tamer than the smash competitors to the public but he was frighteningly strong behind the scenes, something some of the tougher combatants had found out the hard way.

Taking two steps back Sonic looked to the nearest metal pillar and ran towards it, using the momentum to travel against gravity and reach the ceiling. What the blue hedgehog wasn't ready for though was the rigidity of the boards on the ceiling. He simply couldn't break through.

"I don't know whether that's a good thing or a bad thing," Sonic muttered aloud after several failed attempts.

Sonic shrugged, deciding to give up and go back and search the hallways again, hoping to run into hotel staff. He turned around looking for the low illuminated glow of the path he'd taken but was surprised to see nothing.

"Wasn't it just there?" Sonic asked himself, "Geez, this place doesn't give up. I want fresh air not dead air."

The blue hedgehog started sprinting, not caring if he broke the floor any more. As he was running Sonic noticed that the wooden floor, as old as it looked, didn't creak or crack one bit. He carried on running, hoping that he would break free of this area soon enough.

* * *

Samus groaned, she hated waking up from a forced state of sleep.

Noticing that her head was at an angle, she darted her eyes around, quickly trying to scope out the situation. A large soft object obstructed most of her vision, the cream, red and green colours gave Samus only one thought and the faint smell of whiskey confirmed her suspicion.

Without thinking she quickly raised her head, looking at the man known as Snake who was still under the sleep effects of Jigglypuff. She quickly scanned the table, checking to see if anyone was awake. This was one thing that Samus didn't anyone having over her, especially as Snake wouldn't let her live without reminding her every day.

In the few seconds it took to confirm that no one was awake, Samus noticed that several people were missing from the room. She got up, her legs still feeling numb, taking it upon herself to scan the room and check everyone.

"So…Mewtwo's dead, Ness, Nana and Young Link are off somewhere, Popo went to find them, ROB and GW left for some reason, Sonic's also not here…..is that all?" Samus asked aloud.

"Ughh…..I think so," Snake muttered, making Samus jump slightly.

"Then we need to account for the missing people now." Samus responded in turn, trying to spot the pink balloon like Pokémon that had forced them to sleep.

"What! People are missing?" Snake's eyes widened, his voice was loud enough wake up some of the others earlier.

It was true that several warriors were missing. Yoshi, Diddy Kong, Olimar, Luigi, Lucario, Lucas and the Pokémon trainer who was often mistakenly called Ash were not at the table.

"What happened?" Ganondorf groaned, wiping off some exotic fruit from his beard.

"We were ambushed by that Pink Puff Ball," Wario muttered seemingly annoyed.

"Kirby?" asked Sheik quietly.

"No….he means Jigglypuff," Zelda answered. The two had fallen asleep next to each other and woke up at the same time.

Ganondorf raised an eyebrow, looking between the two Hylians.

"I thought you two wer-"

"AGH!" King Dedede Screamed.

"What?" half the room asked at the same time.

The blue penguin pointed at the space across him where the pink Pokémon lay, dead.

No.

Not only was it dead, its body had been mutilated in such a bizarre way. Rolls of pink skin circled the body of the Pokémon, the faint blue lines of a vein network could be seen around patches of blood.

"That's not right…..at all," Toon Link said, backing away from that area. He had sat next to the Pokémon only to wake up to _that _sight.

The body of the Pokémon had been split like an orange, dissected into 6 slices. The innards were nicely cleaved, preventing the juices from flowing erratically.

"Woah….that's nuts." Bowser spoke, gagging slightly.

"Each slice seems perfect, cut with the precision of a surgeon. Only an expert blade wielder or Dr Mario could have done this. At any rate I give it an A+ for creativity." Ganondorf spoke, nodding in agreement to his own words.

Even Bowser who was known to mistreat his minion looked at Ganondorf like he was crazy.

"Did Dr Mario do this?" Wario asked.

"Stop instigating conflict Wario," Zelda spoke, standing up, "We need to think about this carefully, if we don't treat this seriously someone else will die for no reason."

Bowser stood up, slamming his fists on the table.

"I'm leaving!" Bowser announced, he pushed his chair away and walked towards the door.

However before he could reach the handle a familiar sound stopped him. The repetitive ringing sound echoed throughout the room and Snake brought out his phone.

"That's your ringtone too?" Wolf asked, slightly disappointed at the mercenary.

"Who is it?" Toon Link asked, trying to avoid looking at the dead Pokémon.

Snake looked at his phone, his face immediately paled.

"What's wrong?" Captain Falcon asked.

"It's Master Hand…. "Snake choked out.

The smashers tensed.

"We can't tell him," said Fox.

"I agree, that guys is not someone I'd mess with," Ganondorf agreed, already shaking.

"Wait a minute, why can't we ask him?" Pit asked.

"Do you want to die?" Captain Falcon looked directly at Pit, the angel could tell he was serious, "Okay Snake, make sure to play it cool."

The mercenary nodded and answered the phone.

"Yes…sir," he spoke, listening to what was being said, "okay…..sure…..I understand,"

The others waited impatiently, looking at Snake with curious eyes. When Snake closed the phone they bombarded him with questions.

"QUIET!" the man shouted, his voice louder due to the spacious room.

"Master Hand placed some sort of protective magic over the hotel, the staff were told to leave in advance after putting away our bags. In basic terms….we can't leave."

"Great!" Bowser complained, "So we're stuck here with a psycho until you guys find out who it is and I can't even leave,"

"Says the mutated turtle with over 10 counts of abduction." Snake responded.

"He just can't take no for an answer," Peach sighed.

Bowser bit his lip and growled slightly.

"I can protect you, I'm completely capable." He argued.

"Yea….it's a shame you're not capable of keeping a wife." Falco sneered, "I mean what kind of female would mate with you? You know, the one that gave birth to them koopalings?"

"I thought Bowser did that himself," Toon Link spoke, "Wario told me all Koopas lay their own eggs."

Some of the smashers sniggered after hearing that, Bowser himself was flustered.

"Wario! Why would you say something like that?" he roared.

The man still seated at the table shrugged and continued to eat.

Snake sighed, massaging his temple and standing up.

"I'm going to look around, if you do anything to make me suspicious I'll consider you the murderer. Hopefully we can resolve this before Master Hand comes back."

Samus also stood up. As much as she'd hate to admit it Snake would be the best partner in this situation. Without any words she stood up, following Snake. He made to attempt to stop her, most likely thinking the same thing. Pikachu quickly jumped onto Samus' shoulder, snuggling up to the bounty hunter.

"Well with the A Team gone what now?" Fox asked.

"I'm off," Olimar announced, he hopped off his chair and walked away.

"Anyone else?" Fox looked around as the others shifted uneasily.

"Well I want to do some sleuthing myself, Master Hand is bound to give away a good prize to the person who catches the killer." Falco decided, stretching his arms. "You with me Fox?"

"Sure," the leader of the space team nodded.

Wolf then jumped up, intercepting the two.

"Can't let you do that Fox….not without me, if anyone's getting that prize it's me!" he growled slightly, hands resting on his hips.

"Sure….Wolf, let's go," Fox said as all three space animals left the room.

"I'm going too," Captain Falcon said, "bounty or no bounty, it seems I have a job to do."

The Captain got up and left, followed by the Fire Emblem Trio, Meta Knight and Kirby.

"Hey! Don't leave without me!" King Dedede shouted, running after them.

"I'm content with staying here," Wario spoke between mouthfuls of food, "It would be a shame to waste all this food."

The treasure hunter swiped his finger across the centre piece cake and licked it. Peach looked at him in disgust before speaking.

"Maybe there is still someone left in the hotel, we could go and look for them." She spoke, grabbing Mario's arm and walking off.

Mario and Dr Mario were carrying Luigi who was still unconscious, followed closely by Bower.

"You don't have to follow us," Mario spoke, avoiding eye contact with the Koopa.

"I know that! I'm just here to protect the princess!" he argued.

"Sure….." Dr Mario replied as they walked through the twin doors of the dining hall.

A few seconds after the mushroom group left Wario dropped the scone he was about to eat.

"Wait a minute…..there might be a bounty. That includes gold right?" he asked aloud.

"Yea…what's your point?" Zelda asked.

After confirming his suspicions Wario vaulted over the table with the skill of a gymnast, running out of the room faster than the speed people thought he was capable of.

"Hmm….he really is motivated by money." Zelda murmured to himself.

Link who had been sitting beside Zelda this whole time raised an eyebrow and chuckled slightly, he looked at the open corpse of Jigglypuff then at the sliced head of Mewtwo.

"Shouldn't we clean this up?" he asked.

"Sure," Zelda agreed, "Then after that the rest of us can go out and look ourselves,"

The others nodded, getting up and picking up food and throwing in in bin bags that were conveniently left behind for them. After a while Link noticed that no one had touched the bodies.

"Um….what about there?"

Zelda paused, looking at the others than back at Link, giving the hero an anxious smile.

"Sorry Link, it looks like you're going to have to do that for us," she said chuckling nervously.

Link groaned, picking up several bags and using them as makeshift bags.

* * *

**Author Notes**

If you're still here, thanks for reading. From now on if there are any questions that get asked about the story I'll do my best to answer them at the bottom of each new chapter. I'll also be responding to reviews here as well. Future updates will be much slower, there are a lot of things in the way right now (including a whole lot of school work but I have already mapped out most of the plot.

**Reviews and Questions**

Team Sonic Forever 4910 - Thanks for the kind words, I'm going to make sure that every character gets mentioned within the story or has some role. Don't worry you haven't annoyed me. ;)

LilacFoxGirl1 - Haha...I'm blushing here, thanks for the message though. The latin bit does roughly translate to "the death of our battle continues", I try to make sure that the words make sense when translated through Google.

Ringo's Twin Brother - Thanks, I do hope to continue this. I like when games use Latin, especially the intro for Brawl.

Twilight Joltik - Thanks, I'm hoping to keep a consistent level of quality with the story (no matter how hard that may be).

redwalrus12 - More Toon Link? Sure!

Thehobkinauthor - That's what I intended to do, so mission accomplished. :)


	4. Chapter 4

_Mors est velocius quam iustitia._

Something was off this time.

The characters that had been written on the walls were fresh, carefully drawn and placed vertically against the metallic surface of a support beam. Sonic questioned why he would see another message so soon, could it possibly mean the killer was nearby?

Suddenly the room felt cold.

A silent breeze danced around the darkness, penetrating Sonics' body and freezing his movement. Sonic couldn't help shivering, he found a hard time believing an attic could be this big. Not once had he found a way out, he even attempted to break the walls but quickly found they were protected by powerful magic. It didn't take a scholar to deduce that the barrier had been placed by Master Hand.

Something was very wrong with this situation.

"So what do I do?" he asked aloud, hoping that an answer would appear in front of him.

Nothing.

Silence filled the air with uncertainty, creating an atmosphere that Sonic hated. In his mind he pleaded, any sound would suffice, as long as it could take away his current feeling of loneliness. He wished he'd never left the dining hall. As disgusting as the head had been, the company of friends he trusted was far more valuable.

Drip.

Sonics' eyes widened for a second, he held his breath in anticipation, hoping he wasn't simply hearing things. Moments passed, but no sound could be heard. Sighing in disappointment, Sonic looked back at the message written on the metal beam.

That's when he saw it.

A single drop of water had weaved its way through the characters written in blood. Defying logic in a way Sonic dare not question. He looked upwards, wanting to determine the source of water, hoping he had finally found the way out.

He was wrong of course. You could say it was worse, in fact most would consider his fate cruel and terrifying. Memories of his days with his best friend Tails clouded his mind, his eyes only able to reflect his current predicament.

Water.

That was the only clear word Sonic could think of in his head. He had seen his fair share of water before, traversing under complete levels of it, even fighting enemies who were fully composed of the stuff. But this was unreal, an entire ocean of water was above his head, no matter which way he looked it was there.

"Why didn't I see this before?" he asked himself, trembling at the site of so much water only a few meters away from his head.

He was sure that the water hadn't been there before, in fact he could clearly hear it thrashing about, drops of water falling on his head like rain in the summer.

Sonic ran, somehow he knew that someone had done something to this space. Whether it was magic, technology or some other means, he knew that this room had been prepared just for him.

That message was for him.

Picking up the pace, the blue hedgehog dodged a pillar as a large body of water collided with the ground around him, sweeping him off his feet. Sonic used one of his hands to rebalance his body, attempting to outrun the wall of water that was slowly approaching.

"This isn't fun anymore!" Sonic shouted, turning every other second as more water crashed around him.

Unbeknownst to him, a pair of ancient eyes watched from the darkness, cackling at the prospect of another victim falling into one of its traps.

* * *

"Damn it!"

The three sword wielding fighters had been walking around, sure that they were completely lost. Not once had they come across another Smasher or seen a door number they recognise.

"776? Aren't we still on the first floor?" Marth questioned.

The other two nodded to themselves, subconsciously sticking close to each other. Marth had been leading the three, at first confident that he would find a clue before the other groups, but as the hallways dragged on he soon found himself doubting their chances.

"This isn't what I signed up for..." Ike muttered, scowling at a door with the numbers 8462 on it.

"Oh, what did you come for?" Roy questioned, unsure if he was genuinely interested or annoyed of Ike's presence.

"Not much, just to represent the Greil Mercenaries. I heard doing work for the Smash Corp does wonders for personal careers."

Roy rolled his eyes but couldn't help but agree.

"I guess you are right, it did help spread my tale to other lands. In fact I'm sure my presence in Melee benefitted my kingdom...somewhat."

Marth flinched slightly, surprised Roy would easily go into that topic. He noticed that the young ruler didn't look too depressed, much to the Hero Kings delight. Another door came up with the number 296 on it.

"Are these numbers random?" he asked aloud, not expecting a reply.

"Nothing good ever comes from random events," Ike said "I'm pretty sure someone out there is laughing at us right now."

"I know what you mean, especially when a critical attack misses by dumb luck. You'd hope the person behind all this would just randomly disappear!" Roy added.

The three chuckled, glad that they had chosen companions they could trust whilst wandering these halls.

A disturbingly loud scream halted all three warriors.

"Who was that?" Roy asked.

"I'm not sure...but it sounded like a female..." Ike replied.

"Samus?" Roy asked.

Marth scoffed immediately.

"Zelda?"

Ike shook his head.

"Peach?"

"Perhaps..." Marth said.

"Is there anyone else?" Roy asked.

"How about Sheik?" Ike mentioned, remembering their discussion that morning.

"We crossed off Zelda already" Marth stated.

The red haired warriors looked at the two, his eyebrow raised in confusion.

"Aren't they the same person?" he asked.

"Yes/No!" the other two said at the same time.

"What?"

"I mean I talked with Sheik this very morning on the coach, certainly not Zelda." Ike stated.

"Zelda wasn't on that coach, therefore she must have been disguised as Sheik for some reason..." Marth replied.

"So who was sitting next to her at the dinner table?" Ike asked.

"Link?"

"Her other side."

"Oh," Roy thought hard, furrowing his brow in thought, "Not sure."

"Marth?"

"I don't recall seeing anyone there," Marth admitted.

Ike's jaw dropped, he could of sworn Sheik was there, although his own memory of the table also depicted the ninja warrior not being at the table. He was about to say something when Roy interrupted him.

"Guys, shouldn't we investigate that scream?"

The other two nodded, quickly moving to follow Roy who had already started running towards the source of the scream.

* * *

"I don't understand this place," Snake grumbled, punching one of the walls.

He looked at the extravagant furnishings on the walls, it was all perfectly arranged. So much that it annoyed him to no end.

"Why didn't I notice this before?" he asked himself, a little louder than he intended.

"That's probably because you drank too much on the way here," Samus replied with a smug grin on her face.

The mercenary feigned shock and raised an eyebrow at the bounty hunter before smiling , still under the weak influence of his drink.

"So does that mean you were watching me the whole time?" he asked, knowing he treading into dangerous territory.

"What? No!" the galactic warrior responded, turning way to investigate the walls. Although he couldn't see, Snake could tell that there was a slight blush on Samus' face.

Pikachu made a few noises gaining the attention of the two humans, he was still on Samus' shoulder and looked at Snake with an almost innocent face.

"You have a point," Snake rolled his eyes at the mouse Pokémon.

"We really should find some clues, " Samus said, agreeing with Pikachu.

The three walked on in silence, looking at the room numbers and stopping when they reached a door with the number 024.

"This is his room." Snake stated, looking at the door which looked like it had been untouched in years.

He knelt down taking a pin from his pocket and attempted to open the door but before he touched the handle he noticed that the door was in fact open.

"Why would he choose this room?" Samus asked aloud, "Is the number 24 special? Or perhaps he was attracted to the dead vibe this room gave?"

A chill escaped from the cracks of the door, it's embrace colder than death yet it's touch light, like a shower of feathers.

Pikachu tensed slightly, clearly sensing something from the other side of the door. The Pokémon jumped off its companions shoulder and sniffed the floor, moving closer and accidentally pushing the door open.

"Pika?" the Pokémon spoke, looking into the dark room.

Somehow the Pokémon's voice was amplified by the darkness, it echoed for more than a few second giving the three smashers reason to believe the room was bigger than a football field.

"Are we really in the right place?" Samus asked whilst walking in.

Snake was taken aback by the fearlessness of the bounty hunter. He thought back to her stories of the alien planets she's seen and the war's she had single-handedly won. He chuckled quietly to himself before replying.

"Let's hope so, I'm itching to see a real fight."

Samus grinned in anticipation, it had been years since she was in service to the Galactic Federation. After the incident on the BSL she had been declared an outlaw by the secret organization running the military like federation. It was during that period that Master Hand had contacted her about the Smash Tournaments, far away from the eyes of the G.F. and in territory that even the Space Pirates wouldn't be able to find.

"Let's do this."

* * *

**Author Notes**

Well this is more of a micro chapter, I've been busy with other things including my own book which is currently finished. But on to the reviews...

**Reviews and Questions**

Ringo: I haven't seen much Japanese in the Fan fictions I've read, although it can't be that bad...

Guest 1 + 2: Thanks

TooLazyToLogin aka Thehobkinauthor: We'll see...

Lilac: The story may be quite long and irregular updates will certainly damper things in the future. Also there is a reason for everything, I often add some very vague references from certain series but I'm sure you and others will notice the more obvious ones...


	5. Chapter 5

Qui enim mortui sunt, ridere

The King of Evil had read the symbols on the wall, his magic translating the bloody text perfectly. He smirked, his memory going back to events of the past, a time when he was more ambitious with his work. Those brief memories brought a sense of nostalgia to the Gerudo, a longing to return to that land where death was final and the Tri-Force was a power to be reckoned with.

That all changed of course.

With the introduction of the Smash Bros Tournaments and the technology that came with it Ganondorf had learnt about many godly powers from many worlds, whilst most seemed inferior to the power of the three Golden Goddesses, he feared that Master Hand was hiding an ability that allowed him to change all concepts of space and time, an ability he craved.

Yet he couldn't help smiling.

The series of events that had taken place were cruel indeed. He couldn't tell who did them or why they would do such a thing yet he felt a deep sense of curiosity. A fleeting feeling that reminded him of his time as ruler of Hyrule, not knowing when an assassin would be sent your way or when the hero would finally show up at your throne.

Ganondorf couldn't help shaking.

His blood was cold, his mind was racing, yet he enjoyed himself immensely. The thrill of waiting for the next kill was almost too great, he pondered going to an unsuspecting smasher and snapping their necks, but several thoughts stopped him. What if he ruins the killers plan? What if the killer saw him as an immediate threat? What if he killed the killer?

The dark ruler sighed in defeat.

He knew he'd be forced to watch from the sidelines. The best he could do now is hope to not get in the way, enjoy the creative deaths and mentally bet who was next. Moments passed as he wondered which smasher would be next. In his mind, getting rid of the bounty hunters would be a top priority, but at this point in time he concluded that the killer was merely having fun. His thoughts wondered to Link, the current hero in the smash contest. Why he'd replaced the Hero of Time he never questioned, but it was obvious that this Link wasn't as strong, yet his ability to solve puzzles was still unquestionable. Ganondorf assumed the hero would be a major player in this game, finding the killer before the others.

What about me?

The thought surprised him, he never expected to be worried about his own death, but at the same time he wasn't fearing the process of dying.

No, he wanted to die last.

The King of Evil had decided that he wanted to watch how things proceeded to the end. If this murderer had managed to kill Mewtwo without much trouble then he was more than worthy to be the one to end the Gerudo's life.

Ganondorf chuckled, the first outburst he had made since reading the Latin text.

"Are you okay there?" Zelda asked, the first time she had spoken to the man since the trip had started.

"Why yes, I'm merely enjoying the atmosphere, almost as much as a certain underwater shrine." Ganondorf smirked, unbeknownst to him several heroes shivered at once.

Zelda grimaced, then looked back at the cream wall with Latin words written on it. She had a suspicion that Ganondorf could read the text, it was common for those who dealt with magic to understand many languages. As her eyes went over the words another time she felt a cold shiver go down her spine, the feeling of something watching her disrupting her mind. She turned and looked upwards to see Sheik attached to the ceiling, they shared a conversation with their eyes before the Sheikah disappeared into the shadows.

Ganondorf hadn't noticed.

"What do you suppose we do next?" Link asked, standing around the princess.

He felt awkward, standing around with no weapon. Although he was capable in hand to hand combat he knew that some of the others like Snake were more than able to overpower him. Not to mention Ganondorf looked pleased with the events around him, he is certainly someone to be cautious of.

* * *

"This is unreal…" Snake murmured.

The three had entered Mewtwo's room. What they couldn't understand was why the room was so big, Snake had already questioned his bounty hunter partner and she had no answers. According to her, portals that linked two positions were usually loud and noticeable. Without her suit she couldn't scan the area, a major flaw in Master Hand's plan to bring them here. As they had entered the room, they quickly noticed that the room extended behind the door and as you walk behind it the door disappears. Pikachu attempted to shoot a ball of electricity where the door should have been only for it to disappear. Snake observed from the other side and saw no change in the area, he walked in and out of the door, hoping to notice some sort of change but nothing happened.

Then Pikachu started running.

The mouse Pokémon started moving at a high speed, running further and further into the darkness. Samus and Snake gave chase immediately, shouting at the Pokémon to stop. What they didn't realise was that the door had closed behind them and disappeared. The two only stopped when they lost sight of Pikachu.

"Where the hell did that mouse go?" Snake asked, tempted to reach for the bottle he had stashed in his pocket.

"You didn't happen to sneak in a Gun did you?" Samus asked, her eyes gazing at the direction they came from.

"No, weapons are one of the things that show up instantly during Crazy Hand's searches, I know that for a fact," Snake replied, unconsciously rubbing his left shoulder.

The two stood there in silence for a few moments, mentally coming up with the best course of action. However before Snake could speak Samus had tackled the mercenary to the floor, just in time to dodge an Iron Tail from the mouse Pokémon.

The yellow mouse looked different, its fur was darker and its eyes seemed to drip malice. It paced back and forth like a rabid wolf, stalking its prey. If it weren't for the situation, Samus would have thought the Pokémon's enraged impression was rather amusing, however the way it now looked at the bounty hunter worried her. Her mind quickly confirmed some facts that were unknown to the public; it was true that the Pokémon had recently been showing violent tendencies, being put under Samus' supervision as a safety measure. It was also true that Iron Tail was capable of cutting through ridiculously strong metals, a fact that not all the Smashers knew but Samus had confirmed herself when she had tested the move on her armour and seen dents various appear.

"Don't get hit!" She quickly spoke to the mercenary.

"I know that!" Snake replied, jumping backwards and crouching into a fighting stance.

* * *

Luigi couldn't hold in his laughter.

In his defence, Mario, his PhD holding counterpart and Peach were also finding it hard to hold in their laughter. The four were clutching their stomachs, tears slowly forming in their eyes. Even Luigi who had been shaking not too long ago was not laughing along his brother. The green, mustachio plumber had woken up to see various faces looking at him. Peach had been worried, Mario shocked and Bowser looked proud of himself, as if he had caught Luigi in the act. Dr Mario was the only one who looked at the plumber with any sort of understanding.

_Anxiety_ he had said.

He waved off Luigi's sneaking with just one word. The man in green himself knew he couldn't have committed the murders, the sight of blood made him sick, but even he had to admit that the doctor had dismissed him a bit too quickly. Why the others weren't suspicious Luigi couldn't say but he held his thoughts to himself, knowing that if his suspicions were right and he let the others knew it may backfire on him.

After that Luigi refused to stay close to Dr Mario.

He had always walked between Mario and Bowser, knowing that even the Koopa King wasn't foolish enough to kill someone and try to eat them. The reptilian creature had been silent since they'd left, his eyes were always on the lookout and he walked in a menacing way, but Luigi could tell something off about him.

Then he screamed.

Normally Luigi wouldn't insult someone, those that knew him would say he was a gentle soul, but Luigi could honestly say he'd never heard such a girly scream in his life and it came from Bowser. A spider, smaller than a leaf had fallen on top of the Koopa's head and he overreacted, big time. Bowsers face was redder than the flames he usually spewed, his hands were desperately trying to reach his head as his large shell restricted movement in the rather narrow hallway. No one wanted to help the Koopa King, the situation was too rare and too funny to change, especially as the day had been getting worse since they arrived at the hotel.

In moments Marth and Ike had arrived at the scene.

Although the two had no weapons you could tell they were gearing for a fight. What they didn't expect to see was the four mushroom kingdom citizens laughing and the Koopa King on the floor with his arms desperately trying to reach his head.

"He's afraid of Spiders." Ike spoke in a disappointed tone.

"He's afraid of Spiders?" Marth asked in confusion.

"Who's afraid of Spiders?" Roy asked as he caught up with the others.

"Bowser!" Luigi managed to spurt out between fits of giggling.

Marth was surprised to see Peach laughing so unreservedly, the princess next to Mario in tears too. Ike couldn't help but look disgusted at such a whimpering display, he didn't understand how such a beast could be afraid of a Spider. Roy on the other hand was already on the floor laughing, Marth using the back of his hand in an attempt to hide his laughter.

Ike learnt that day that Dr Mario had an infectious laugh.

The Doctor was chortling like a schoolboy, the sound of his voice able to crack the solid look Ike had on his face. The mercenary leader knew that he couldn't let the situation carry on for much longer, there was a killer on the loose and there was no telling when he would strike next. With a quick motion of his arm Ike swiped the spider off-of Bowser and tossed it away. He then looked at the turtle with a raised eyebrow, expecting an answer for the rather odd behaviour.

"I could have been poisoned!" Bowser said, clawing his right eye as a tear threatened to escape.

"Wait till Ganondorf hears this..." Roy sniggered.

Although the red haired ruler and the King of Evil were on two opposite ends of the spectrum, they respected each other greatly. Not many questioned the odd friendship they shared but Roy who was known for his mischievous plans and Ganondorf with the magic to enact them were a dangerous duo.

Bowser paled.

"Please don't, he'll summon those horrible creatures of his just to spite me!" Bowser complained, already imagining the Skulltulas and many variations of Gohma.

All Roy could do was shrug as the others settled down, the laughter subsiding as they all recalled why they were in these hallways. The memories of their fallen smashers brought a sense of shame to those that laughed, for a moment they felt bad to have enjoyed themselves over such a simple matter. It didn't help that the hallway suddenly dropped in temperature, a silent breeze wrapping their minds and bodies, a voice calling them from beyond.

What they didn't expect to see was a nearby door suddenly open. Water gushed out, enough to make Bowser stumble. As the sudden rush dissipated the group looked towards the open door and gasped at what they saw. A body, floating in the water was washed against the wall opposite the door. The lighting in the area casted a shadow against the body, making it impossible for the group to identify whoever had died.

"So, who's checking?" Bowser asked, cautiously eyeing the three sword wielding warriors.

They all looked at each other for a moment before Dr Mario sighed in frustration and stepped forwards. He knew he was the most qualified for the job but hated knowing he would be unable to do anything to save them, assuming they were in the condition that Mewtwo or Jigglypuff had been in. As Dr Mario made his way to the body the others followed two paces behind him, stopping only when the doctor gasped in surprise. Ike's curiosity got the better of him and he rushed forwards to see what had shocked the doctor only to step backwards in regret, a urge to hurl forming in the pit of his stomach.

As the others moved into a better position the King of Koopas managed to hold back his scream, however Luigi instantly fainted, caught in time by his brother. Dr Mario looked away from the body, mentally locking away his fear, he looked at Marth who seemed to be the only person able to look in that direction.

"Whoever did this is sick, we'll make sure they pay...dearly."

* * *

**Author Notes**

This chapter was written in a short amount of time, although having not uploading in a while defeats the purpose of that. I'd like to say though that I have decided to finish two of my other stories. The first is a group project that started a few years back, at this point all I need to do is write a few words to close it off and I can mark it as completed. The second is my "Online MMO" Smash story that I intend on rewriting, hopefully this time I get through another large chunk of it before going on another "hiatus". In other news, I've released a book on Amazon called The Legend of Faro: A Tale of Two Shadows. This book started as a hobby but eventually came to light a month ago, if you have the time I'd appreciate if you check it out.

**Reviews and Questions**

Toolazytologin: Don't be lazy, fight it! I believe in you...

Juxboy: I don't think he forgave you...


	6. Chapter 6

Mors solum ad melius mutatio

"Another one..." Olimar spoke, having to look up just to read the text on the wall.

The space traveller marvelled at the writing on the wall. To him the rigidness of the symbols were almost poetic in sight. An language foreign to his but ancient in design, the use of blood as ink was chilling. Olimar wouldn't admit it but he had been awestruck when he had first looked upon one of the many messages that were written on the hallways in blood. To him these were as wondrous as the powers that Master Hand possessed.

Only a few members of the Smash group even knew of his home planet, his games were not as popular as the others and the other smashers were hardly even given a chance to try something new. When he first arrived in Master Hand presence the floating entity could hardly see him yet was still able to communicate with him. At that time Olimar was only 2 cm in height, much like Kirby who had originally been 20 cm. Master Hand had used his powers to make him bigger, so much that if imagined he would crush his home planet if her ever went back in his current state. The thought that powers like the existed filled Olimar with wonder, so much so that he know stood before yet another message written in blood and started wondering if this was all a test.

"Yes, it must be!" he suddenly spoke aloud, glancing up and down the hallways in case someone had heard him.

Olimar giggled in excitement, wondering if he was the first to catch on. He imagined that this whole event, the accident with the cleaning staff, the hotel, even the death of Mewtwo was nothing but a ploy by Master Hand to truly test the resolve of the Smashers. He imagined that by staying strong, moving onwards without fear and finding the goal he would be rewarded for his control, knowledge and bravery. For several moments he though like that, giggling happily as he walked down the hallway before stopping at another message. This time he didn't laugh, swell up with pride or show any sense of achievement.

This was the opposite.

Olimar let out a scream, attempting to cover his face when he realised that his helmet obstructed his hand. The pilot couldn't help it, to him the room shifted in tone, growing darker and more sinister by the second. It only took one glance at the blood to confirm his suspicions.

Non ridere

He knew that it was for him. Somehow, someway the killer had seen him. Whether it was Master Hand or some other person he knew that they were close. The killing intend started emanating from the walls, a thick smog of hatred settled into the hallways. Visibility dropped like a stone, sounds echoed unnaturally and the temperature would fluctuate wildly.

_Am I hallucinating? _

Olimar checked his helmet to make sure there were no cracks or holes. He wondered why he did not ask Master Hand for the ability to breath oxygen like the others. He gulped, knowing that it was probably a mistake that would cost him his life. He turned, too quick for his own liking and fell in a spout of dizziness. Scolding himself for acting in such a way, the pilot attempted to pull himself together, hoping to understand what just occurred. His mind was still scattered, thoughts coming and going like trains at a busy station. Whispers penetrated his helmet whilst his body moved on its own, running away from the scene. Twice he had run into a wall, his vision still obstructed by the growing presence of the fog, a force that almost felt alive. At one point Olimar could have sworn he heard a crack, but the area was far too dark to check his helmet. With a need to prioritise his breathing Olimar tried his best to not panic but as he turned another corner he felt something. The shadows were definitely alive, clawing at him and growing closer with each passing second.

Then he saw it.

"A blue Pikmin?" Olimar asked aloud, wondering why the plant creature was in this hotel.

The small plant was one of the many items that Master Hand had modified for the Smash Tournament, in theory they never died, spawning in at a moment's notice and waiting for their captains command. Olimar had mused at one point that such a simple creature had immortality but was not smart enough to benefit from it.

It crept, walking slowly towards the captain as he backed away, wondering if he was still hallucinating. As a sound came from the right Olimar saw another one come up from the ground, this time it was red. Needless to say, Olimar turned and ran, only to be stopped moments later by a blue Pikmin that was watching him in the middle of the hall. Olimar knew that it wouldn't listen to him, deep down he could sense that something in them had changed, allowing the creatures to act almost independently from his orders.

With some awkward movement Olimar had managed to get away from the plan creatures, losing sight of the colourful Pikmin in the vast hallways of the hotel.

"Was this place really that big?" Olimar moaned as he reached an intersection of hallways.

A deep sense of fear pinched the captains senses as he spun around to see a large group of Red Pikmin already behind him. To his left were the blue ones and his right sat the yellow plants. Olimar closed his eyes, knowing that when he turned around he'd see the purple Pikmin watching him.

"What do you want!" he screamed, turning to confirm his suspicions.

No response came from the purple Pikmin, their eyes staring blankly towards the captain. A small sound did come from one of the hallways. A high yet faint chant that seemed to come from the Blue Pikmin, their mouths barely moving yet making a sound in unison. Olimar would freely admit that he was scared if someone else had been with him. The captain kissed his teeth in frustration, knowing it was foolish for him to have moved alone.

Then he heard it.

The sound of shuffling. He looked at the blue Pikmin, then at the red, then yellow and purple. He couldn't see any movement from any of them. It confused him, the chanting continued but nothing else seemed to be happening.

_Could the chanting be used to cover up something else ?_

Olimar though quickly, going through all the possibilities he could think of in such a situation. It was only when his helmet reflected light off the ceiling that he realised what the plants were planning. Hundreds of red eyes stared at him from above, the sound of them moving along the ceiling masked by the chanting of the blue Pikmin. As they started falling Olimar cursed, thinking of what he could do, nothing coming to mind.

* * *

Young Link woke up in a sweat. Without needing to look, he could immediately tell he was in a bed, the warmth was almost too cosy and the smell was nostalgic. A candle light flickered nearby, it's light casting long shadows against the plain walls.

_This doesn't look like a hotel room? _The hero of time thought to himself, attempting to get up from his resting place.

"Oh, you're awake," a familiar voice said.

Young Link snapped up, facing the sound of the voice to see the familiar face of the woman he had met earlier. Her eyes seemed deeper yet softer than before, her hair almost ablaze in the shades of red that the candlelit fire illuminated. Her ears were pointed, a vast difference from what he had seen before. Questioning whether it was the same woman, Young Link noticed that her clothes were also different. Young Link had no doubt that the woman in front of him was Cremia, she looked older but still as welcoming as ever.

No, this couldn't be Cremia.

Sure he had saved Termina from destruction. He had thanked the goddesses when the 4th day finally arrived, every citizen able to go about their business again without the looming fear of death. Although the Smash Bros Corporation and their partners at Nintendo showed the events in such a way that Young Link had left shortly after completing his mission, the real events couldn't have been further from the truth. He had stayed there for at least two years, living with Cremia and Romani.

When he had first received the invitation to join the Smashers he immediately declined, not ready to give up on the new life he had started. In time the former hero had taken over most of the work at the ranch, in an attempt to repay the kindness that the two sisters had shown him. Deep down he knew he couldn't stay there forever but he couldn't let go of that hope, a desperate measure to stay away from the harsh realities of being a hero. But one day he realised he had to go.

He had first noticed the change in Romani, she had started to take her work more seriously than before. Often she would finish her work with time to spare, opting to help Link out whenever possible. He then noticed the same change in Cremia, during the day help would come from the town, they'd work on the pastures and return back to the town in the evening. Young Link knew that the sisters weren't making enough money to support all three of them and a someone to work the fields. It was time for him to go.

The day Young Link confronted Cremia was the day he had left. The two had argued for hours, tears streaming down the young boys face whilst Cremia looked back at the hero with a pained look in her eyes. Young Link had said many things he regretted that day, terrible things that were manifestations of the fear in his heart. A fear of being pit against the world, fighting for some unknown cause or for the will of a person that only saw him as a tool. That night the hero had taken his things and left, leaving the farm only to realise that Cremia was right behind him as he left the farm house. Her face showed no anger, fear or sadness. He could see that she was indeed happy for him, the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes were that of relief, to her the young man she had watched grow for the past two years was ready to go back out into the world.

No, this wasn't Cremia.

"Are you okay?" the woman asked, approaching the bed with a glass of water in her hands.

Young Link could only nod, showing his appreciation for the drink with a small smile. He was certainly confused by the pointed ears, humans didn't have them and elves didn't really exist.

Was this woman really her?

"You've been through a lot, but I guess we've all gone through something we regret." she said, her eyes looking away for a moment.

Young Link recognised the expression. It was the same one Cremia had given him when he had first decided to decline the Smash Bros invitation. His mind continually raced, trying to put together what was happening. The woman in front of him looked more like Cremia with every passing moment, her warm smile was the same, her eyes were just as comforting as he could remember and she smelt faintly like hay.

"Cremia..." his voice managed to speak, much higher and younger than he remembered sounding.

"Yes dear," she almost instantly replied.

Young Link gasped, the next thing he knew was that he couldn't see. The tears that were falling were much harder to get off than he imagined. It didn't help that he was currently being embraced by the older woman, the warmth from her body flooding his mind with images from the past.

"It's okay," she whispered, slowly consoling the boy.

* * *

It didn't take long for both Snake and Samus to realise that Pikachu was much more dangerous outside of a smash battle. He was moving around much faster than usual, using his quick attacks to flank the two then using Iron Tail to launch himself into the air. The combination of moves along with his signature thunderbolt was more than enough to keep the two on edge.

Samus had been hit multiple times, her reaction time was much greater than that of her partner but his inability to react to some of Pikachu's quicker attacks meant that she needed to defend him. Often the mercenary would swear whenever the bounty hunter blocked an attack with her arm, the discharge of electricity absorbed by her Chozo-Human body. The bounty hunter knew that the best way to defeat their opponent would be to work in a team, multiple times did the thought occur to use Snake as bait in an attempt to gain the advantage but she couldn't let her more sadistic side take over. Snake had similar thoughts, knowing that the bounty hunter would be able to survive a direct attack more than once.

It was after a few bouts of dodging moves that Snake finally snapped. He revealed a bottle of whiskey that he had somehow smuggled with him as well as a lighter. Asking Samus to buy him two minutes, the mercenary fashioned a makeshift bomb with the materials he had with him. Samus eyed the soldier as she attempted to distract Pikachu thankful for his paranoid nature.

"I can take the heat!" she suddenly shouted, holding the mouse Pokémon in a strong grip.

Pikachu had been letting loose wave after wave of electricity, all coursing through Samus' body. Although she did indeed have heavy resistance to earth level attacks, when she had joined the Smash Corp, Master Hand modified her again in an attempt to give the other fighters a chance of winning against her.

Snake grimaced at the thought of what he was about to do, but without skipping a beat he dashed towards the two and threw the bottle right at the mouse Pokémon. Samus who had been gritting her teeth in pain fell backwards as the bottle reached Pikachu, somehow the mercenary had been able to throw the bottle in such a way that the liquid partially went down the Pokémon's throat. The sight wasn't pleasant at all, the harsh screams pained Samus who had grown attacked to the yellow creature. Snake looked away ashamed that he hadn't thought of a better way to subdue the Pokémon.

it was needless to say that Pikachu died shortly afterwards.

* * *

**Author Notes**

I quite liked this chapter, at least where it was intentionally heading. For those that don't know Samus on a technical level is incredibly powerful, her body can withstand over 800 G's of gravity without the suit (using the games as reference). It was for this reason that I had to under power her as well as some of the other characters otherwise they wouldn't be killable. Next time we'll be looking at Nana, what happened to her and also the other body we mentioned before...

**Reviews and Questions**

**Thehobkinauthor: **You'll have to wait a bit longer, that other story will be posted eventually when other things have calmed down around me...hahaha. Villager isn't in this story, the only characters are those from Brawl and Melee, that's because this story was planned before Smash 4 was even released or announced (I think).

**Crazy Mechayoshi: **Thanks, more is here!


	7. Chapter 7

Tempus est!

Water was everywhere.

It was natural for it to take the form of whatever medium it entered. Water was pure, free, untamed. It healed and it brought death, each droplet of the hydrogen-oxygen compound a blessing in disguise, able to give sanctity to the weak and devastation to the mighty.

There was Ice, much like stone a hard substance that was unmoving, quite stubborn in nature. It defiantly gave off a chilling expression as it stood, anchored to its position by a disposition is space-time. Ice was terrifying, beautiful and sacred. But ice was the cold hard truth, never deterring, never changing or trying to please anyone, you couldn't run from the truth. You had to believe in the truth.

Steam was as free as it got. A spirit that had been released from its eternal prison, not bound to one position like Ice and free to roam the skies unlike Water. Steam was fun, hot-headed and never looked back. Steam wouldn't hurt you unless you got too close, it was helpful, expressive and bursting with energy. But steam also clouded your vision, an illusion to the truth of the matter, a lie that you wanted to desperately see, you couldn't hope an event didn't happen when you saw otherwise, a tale of desperation on the hearts of those that mingled with the free roaming spirit. No, you couldn't trust the lie.

Water was different, it didn't lie or tell the truth. It came, then left as it pleased, never forgetting to remind you it was there. Water changed for you, it weaved it's story to fit your mind, moulding the truth to capture your perception of reality with frightening accuracy. It didn't hide, run away or speak to you. It didn't stay, disrupt or change your thoughts. No, it was the reflection of one's mind, a mirror into the deepest and darkest recessed of our consciousness.

But why?

It was with these thoughts in mind that the body was identified. Another feat of great evil had been committed, but no one wanted to voice the truth. There had to be meaning to this sadistic killing, the lie that everyone wanted say. In those black eyes they saw themselves, what if it had been them, lying in the pool of water like that?

"Is no one going to say anything?" Ike slowly spoke.

He could easily say that he was the most experienced with death. It wasn't that he thought Marth and Roy were not fighters, he'd witnessed their surprisingly accurate stories through this worlds video games, but Ike was and always will be a mercenary. He'd done things that he wasn't proud of, killed people who's souls haunted him to this day. It was with the upmost desperation that he had persuaded the famous game makers to not include certain events in his games. Ike was brave, he led his steam with a steady heart and serious conviction which is why he felt shattered right now.

"Poor boy," Peach managed to utter.

Her heart was broken, her eyes blank and her mouth quivering. Out of all the young smashers who Peach had gotten to know, Lucas was her favourite. He was quiet, yet thoughtful. Peach knew he was very smart, braver then he let on and capable of so much. Peach, who had planned on having a child, would have died happily if her child grew up to be like Lucas. She knew his past, what he went through and how he had trudged through it, often on the verge of depression. It was for that reason why she had adopted him. Mario had doubts at first but was quickly swayed, the two were never friends or enemies, neither hating or kind to each other. They both just shared one thing in common, one person, Peach, princess of the Mushroom Kingdom.

But was that why it hurt?

She couldn't lie to herself, the truth reflected through the eyes of the dead body. She was happy, and that terrified her. How could she be relieved that the person in front of her wasn't the one person she cared for as much as Mario. The guilt within her was so much that she found it hard to stand properly, Mario the ever so attentive fiancée was at her side before she could even stumble.

"Popo" Dr Mario stated, carefully confirming the identity of the body with gloved hands.

"He's wearing Sonic's...skin." Marth finally spoke, still staring at the body with hard eyes.

Ike had to hand it to the prince, in times like these one needed to be calm and collected, but it annoyed him that he looked so unmoved by the death, his eyes cold as if he had expected such a thing to occur. It was that moment that Ike inwardly gasped, subconsciously putting various leads together. I mean no one would suspect such a graceful person such as the Hero King himself. With a mind to keep further watch on him, Ike decided that he couldn't tell anyone about this, not yet. Roy was too close to Marth and the others were all scared of him, even if they had learnt to not show it anymore.

'One forward-smash and no one dares come close anymore' Ike thought to himself, mentally chuckling.

"So what do we do?" Roy asked.

The red haired ruler had been looking at Luigi who was still out of it, the plumber was far to queasy for his liking.

'He wouldn't survive a day back home' Roy thought to himself.

"We do nothing," Marth spoke.

Ike was about to protest when Marth continued to speak.

"If you've noticed the writing on his forehead I suggest we leave now, there is no telling what or who is around here." he spoke, clearly the most logical person in the room right now.

Dr Mario was surprised he hadn't seen the Latin writing before, it was carved into Popo's forehead, a message that was short yet frightening. For the PhD holding man who had studied Latin before, his body tingled with fear. He jumped to his feat, taking several steps back as the others who had not noticed the writing moved closer to inspect the body, pushing the fear they held to the back of their minds.

They all stood there, either looking in shock or away in shame. To the doctors surprise everyone was taking it better than he expected. Bowser was quieter than usual, Mario looked saddened with an anger in his eyes, Luigi was out as always, Ike looked bitter, Marth looked rather stoic and Roy...well he looked rather nervous. Dr Mario raised an eyebrow in suspicion, looking back to the dead body on the floor. If this was recent, and the water didn't help clear up the situation, then the killer was certainly nearby.

Everyone seemed to be lost in thought, wondering why someone would do something so cruel, it wasn't until Ike barked out an order that Luigi woke up, dashing off.

"Everybody, let's move!" his voiced, carried down the hallways.

Within moments Luigi had moved, as if possessed by a ghost. Mario was quickly behind, dragging a Peach that seemed out of it. Bowser did his best to keep moving, hoping that he wouldn't get left alone whist Dr Mario tailed him. Marth and Roy walked side by side, looking around in an attempt to find some sort of clue. It was Ike who was left at the back, walking in such a way to avoid any more water. The hallways was surprisingly dry as they continued down the hallway, signs of the previous incident already hidden in the shadows of the hall.

* * *

"What happened here?" Nana asked herself.

It had taken a while for her to leave the room, Young Link had left in a rush and Ness was...in a bad condition.

She'd only fell asleep for a few moments, the stress of the situation taking its toll on her body and putting her to sleep with ease. She had thought that there was no way she could have fallen asleep like that, the room felt cold to her and she never fell asleep in the cold, that was how her cousin had died. The female Ice-Climber had woken up, still in the armchair she had been seated in when she screamed at Young Link. In fact she couldn't even remember when she had gotten up to check Ness' body or even just leaving the chair.

Something was off.

In the moments that Nana opened her eyes, her consciousness coming back to her, she slowly took in her surroundings.

_Broken chair, broken lights, broken TV, broken..._

"What!" Nana said as her eyes widened, realising that everything in the room was shattered apart from the chair, making her jump out of her seat.

Only for a sharp nail to drive up her foot.

Nana screamed for several minutes. Enough that her throat started hurting more than her left foot. Tears involuntarily fell from her eyes, her vision clouded by thoughts of the immediate pain. Not knowing what to do, Nana sat back down on her s eat and waiting as long as she could until the pain subsided. During that period of time she noticed that Ness' body was missing from the room, the place where he had been shot was no different than the others, the chair in shreds and a burn spot where the chair legs used to be.

She looked down at her leg, the show she was wearing was light, most likely made cheaply too but it had looked nice when Nana bought it on one of her outings with some of the younger female staff. As she raised her leg Nana winced in pain, the underside of the shoe stained with blood. She knew that if she wanted to leave the room she would need to leave the room and get help she'd need to remove the nail.

That prospect scared her.

For moments Nana stared at the leg, tears streaming down her face as she prayed that Popo was there. Her brother would know what to do, he was always calm in these situations, the time he had an Ice Hook caught in his thumb he was surprisingly silent, even admiring the incision as if it was an art piece.

"Popo!" she screamed, hoping that somehow he would hear.

Her voice was coarse, the pain too much as she cradled her foot, afraid to touch the nail as she quietly sobbed in the broken room.

* * *

"Why?" Samus asked, her eyes cold and calculating as she tried to figure out what made the Pokémon act so erratically.

"That's a good question," Snake replied

"I want answers not commentary."

"You're not in charge here,"

"And you are? Last time I checked it was you who lied to Master Hand"

"….fair point. But what do we do with that?" Snake pointed at the body of Pikachu, it was charred.

Burned both inside and out.

"I don't know, I still can't see the door."

"So we just wander here for all eternity?"

"No,"

"How about we split up? I go forwards and you go back, surely one of us would find an exit sooner or later?"

"That's a stupid idea,"

"I know, just wondered what you thought…." Snake sighed, fidgeting with the collar of his sweater vest.

The two stood there for a few more moments, silently saying a prayer for their fellow smasher, wondering why all the Pokémon were somehow targeted first.

"Pokémon would logically be the primary targets," Snake murmured.

"Agreed, they are very resistive to many types of attacks, whoever the killer is saw Mewtwo as a major threat, it's most likely the same reason why we're here." Samus confirmed.

"What? What about the puffball? How could they have known we'd be here?" Snake asked, his mind already forming ideas.

"Jigglypuff was the killer showing off, most likely taunting us that they were able to kill someone right under our noses. I say they knew where we'd be because they also knew Jigglypuff was going to sing."

"So they can see the future?" Snake asked.

"Possibly, that's my first hypothesis. A tactician or computer would also be able to make these kind of predictions." Samus said, her voice growing dark.

"That's some accusation," Snake noted, "Ganondorf could have equally done this, right?"

"So why didn't Link die then? Samus retorted.

"Saving him for last?" Snake suggested,

"Perhaps….but that doesn't sound like a solid suggestion." Samus mused.

"Well, all I know is that this person must have had plenty of time to plan this. Could it be Master Hand?" he thought aloud.

Samus' eyes widened. She looked towards Snake, a small smirk appearing on her face. She wouldn't tell him but she was glad that he was there, his thought process did often help her formulate ideas.

"It's not Master Hand," she told Snake, looking directly at him.

"So….." he promoted.

"Time, think about it. If the murder had access to time travel then they'd know exactly what would happen and plan accordingly, possible playing out the same scenario 1000 times over till the events happened to their liking. Who do we know that has a time travelling device?"

"Nice idea but Link doesn't have the Ocarina of Time anymore, remember he lost it before Brawl, that's why they gave him that different look."

Samus groaned, that little fact having slipped from her mind. She went through all the possible candidates in her mind, Sonic had the Chaos Emeralds but they were stored away back at the Smash Vault. Zelda and Sheik didn't naturally have that type of magic nor did Ganondorf, the Pokémon trainer didn't have access to any of the normal or legendries with that type of power. Her mind desperately tried thinking of more ideas, but nothing useful came to mind. She knew that Link was her best lead although she found it hard to believe he'd do such a thing, the two had known each other for longer than most of the cast, he was the first person to treat her like a normal warrior, even deducing that she was a female behind the legendary power suit.

"I guess that was stupid of me,"

"No, not really." Snake disagreed, "You simply but your emotional attachments behind you and looked at the situation logically."

Samus punched Snake's arm, blushing ever so slightly.

"Who says I have emotional attachments? Link is nothing more than a trusted colleague." Samus argued, unnerved by the mercenaries words.

"Sure," Snake said in a teasing tone, knowing that his actions were very dangerous.

"Can we just find the exit now?" she asked, her tone slightly softer than usual.

"Of course," he said moving in a random direction.

The two had already decided mentally to leave Pikachu where he was, they didn't want to take any chances and the situation was already bad enough. Samus followed Snake, two paces behind him. Her thoughts were still on their previous conversation. She scoffed at Snake's assumption of her feelings for Link.

"Why am I always surrounded by a bunch of idiots?" she murmured, following Snake through the blank void.

* * *

**Author Notes**

This update mainly took some time because I've had no access to the internet for some time, I have coursework deadlines and exams. The next update will be a while, certainly after I've updated my other ongoing story which I recommend you check out if you have time. The first part of this chapter came easy, the middle bit not so much, but the last section was certainly planned. I wanted to give some insight into the A-Team and their ability to think things through efficiently. If you're interested in checking out more of my work check out The Legend of Faro on stores such as Amazon.

**Reviews and Questions**

**mellowwman:** What fics have you read that make the villain seem stupid? At any rate this story won't be like that. Mind you Ganondorf has only died a few times in the Zelda series, him being banished to the sacred realm isn't dying.


	8. Chapter 8

"odiosis"

He walked through another set of doors, followed by two companions. The walls were unusually quiet, not that walls were able to talk. The rich colours that they had seen before were dull, as if the life had been taken from the surrounding area. Each footstep seemed to echo before muting, the walls which were nothing special seemingly absorbed all sound.

"occidit"

The area had changed gradually. Carpet and wood turned into metal panelling, walls of stone become a carbon fibre composite and the lights had slowly changed to high performance bulbs. It didn't help that the next hallway became colder, footsteps echoing longer and their breaths starting to slowly show.

"Erit victoriae mea"

"Shut it!" Falco finally snapped, his eye twitching as Fox restrained the bird from lashing out.

The two had been listening to the space wolf mutter in Latin for the past hour. Ever since they had come across a message written in blood the wolf had stopped speaking normally. From the look in his eye, the way he smirked and the shrug he gave annoyed the two companions greatly.

"That's enough Wolf." Fox spoke, trying to speak diplomatically, "We get that you know Latin, there's not need to show off...more than usual."

"Et non possum" he simply replied, his eyes seemingly glazed over in glee.

Falco growled, his temper increasingly rising. Pulling away from his commander, the bird thought about ending the mercenaries life right there but realised it wouldn't help the greater situation they were in. In annoyance he simply stomped off, not caring if he got last, after all the bird had been in plenty of worse situations back home.

Fox and Wolf stood there for several moments, almost baffled by Falco's quick temper. The two had known that the ex-gangster had gone through anger management therapy. It had been forcefully recommended by Master Hand when the bird had broken Young Link's arm after the two had entered an argument, if the older counterpart hadn't been there things would have ended much worse.

"See what you've done!" Fox shouted, glaring at his rival with annoyance.

"Im 'non iocari" Wolf responded, this time his face was set into a serious scowl.

At that moment Fox wanted to punch the mercenary right there but thought against it.

'He's just messing with me' he thought to himself before looking in the direction Falco headed.

"Fine, I'll go look for him myself then, since you're being so cooperative today" his voice spilling with resentment.

Fox didn't wait for a response and marched off after Falco, leaving the mercenary to wonder why he couldn't communicate properly.

* * *

Captain Falcon wasn't amused, his search so far had given him nothing tangible. No evidence, no witnesses, no bad guys to beat up.

It was all rather boring.

He ran down hallway after hallway, stopping once when he passed by a Library. Although the captain greatly respected those who spent time to write books he never cared for the media itself, the time needed to read one was too long. That didn't mean he wasn't a good read, in fact in-between bounties the captain would spend time studying his targets, potential targets and racing manuals. He would quickly scan the papers finding the relevant information he needed and be on his way.

It was for this reason that the bounty hunter found reason to stop here, a gut feeling told him that he'd need to slow down his search and look for a clue here. The Library itself was dimly lit, corridors of book shelves illuminated by evenly spaced candles. Looking down one of these isles, the rows of books continued into the darkness. The ceiling stretched onwards in a similar fashion, the shelves seemingly going endlessly upwards, almost in a comical fashion.

Captain Falcon sighed, grimacing at the sight of so many books. His thoughts gave him a basic idea, the place must have been enhanced with magic, there was no way that a room like this would be built by normal people.

Ahead of him were a series of desks, built to sit 6 people each with the appropriate numbers of chairs neatly placed around them. Although the arrangement of tables and chairs was nothing special, a book that had been left on one of the tables grasped the captains attention, leading him to sit down and check out the story. The book itself looked old, a brown leather cover that had slowly turned black. There were no words or images on the cover, it's pages seemed to have been stained yellow and dust also appeared to fall around the book then on the object itself. Intrigued, Captain Falcon opened the cover with care and looked at the first page, reading the words 'Death of the Smashers'.

A cold sensation hit the man,

The next page horrified the man, in explicit detail the book described the process that MewTwo had been drugged, his room hexed and his life taken. There was even a recipe attached to the page, as if the writer had tried multiple times to create a perfect cake for this _peculiar_ event. Not only that, but the next page described how Young Link had accidentally shot Ness, yet another hex was produced to reanimate his body. Jigglypuff, Sonic, Popo, Olimar and Pikachu, after that the next pages were blank. The captains face paled considerably, he wanted to swear but found it hard to even open his mouth. Unsure what he should do the captain contemplated destroying the book when he saw it. Words had started forming on the book, letter by letter, the name of another Smasher that had died was beginning to appear.

No.

The captain thought to himself quickly, just because a name was appearing doesn't mean they had died, yet. He grabbed the book and turned to leave, dashing outside of the room and back down the hallway as fast as possible

* * *

King Dedede was not himself right now, the self proclaimed ruler of Planet Popstar had followed Kirby and Metaknight without thinking. He knew that the two would never seriously turn against him, not after some of the adventures the trio had gone on off screen. He hadn't expected the Star Warrior or rather both warriors to have lost their way though. One moment they were following Marth, Ike and Roy then the next moment they were at a swimming pool. The King was getting stressed, he had given up a lot to come to Smash Bros, leaving his country behind and placing several of his council to oversee the planets daily goings.

He contemplated a lot of things.

If he died he had no heir to take over Popstar. The ones he had trusted to do the job currently couldn't do it forever and he didn't believe they'd stay loyal in his death either, there would be a civil war over the land, monsters would reign free and the Waddle Dee army would most likely disband. Deep down he knew he had to continue playing the villain, not for his own benefits but for the others, with a common enemy the people were slowly becoming strong, forming organisations and innovating. In the long run it would be for the better.

The King sighed before looking at Metaknight.

He couldn't ask the warrior what he was thinking because he knew he would only receive a cryptic answer. The warrior seldom shared his true feelings, the only thing giving an inking away was his eyes which glowed in such strange ways. Dedede was unsure if he even trusted the knights, he had unknown allegiances elsewhere, would often disappear at times and come back with new scratches on his mask and never tell a single soul what he did. The knight was somewhat loyal, at times he would defend the kingdom if needed and also help out in the war effort. No, the knight wasn't evil but he wasn't loyal either. If he needed to choose between the King and Kirby, Dedede knew he'd have to fight a one-sided battle.

That brought his attention to Kirby.

Could he really trust that pink puffball, who constantly foiled his plans, even threatening the land at times. He knew that the child only meant well but still he couldn't understand why he'd been placed with such a powerful creature. He never denied that the connection between Metaknight and Kirby was strong, in his mind they were two halves of one whole. If they weren't the same species he'd be surprised but as of now he'd keep these thoughts to himself. One day the child would mature and start speaking for himself, perhaps even thinking more like Metaknight.

He feared that the most.

A last thought came to mind, one that he considered very much. If both Kirby and Metaknight were to die then most of the King's troubles would be over. Sure, the capital would suffer for a while, Metaknight's private army could be consigned into the Dedede corps and all become high ranking generals, but it would be better in the long run.

Yes, their deaths would benefit him greatly.

* * *

**Author Notes**

A very short chapter this time as I update what's going on with some of the other members of the Smash Bros Crew. A few subtle and not so subtle hints of who the killer is as well as some a setup for the next death. As always I'll be updating my other story before uploading the next chapter of this. I've started writing my next book, although it has no defined title yet the plot is pretty much 100% figured out, progress is steady and it should be completed sometime this year hopefully. My first book (The legend of Faro: A Tale of Two Shadows) has been made cheaper on Amazon if anyone is interested enough to check it out. Thanks for reading and reviews are always welcome.

**Reviews and Questions**

**C. Mechayoshi:** Thanks, I'd rather update a little then not for a very long time like I have before...hehehe

**Thehobkinauthor:** Yes I have, my book took a while to write but I'm proud of it.I'm glad you thought the atmosphere was solid, I'm definitely trying to improve my skills through my FanFiction stories, so any sign or recognition of improvement is welcome.

**MockingClove:** I'm glad you like the story, you'll find out towards the end of the story although by then things may have become fairly obvious. I've never seen the movie Devil and don't intend to, it was produced by a man I don't respect at all, mainly for his abysmal rendition of The Last Airbender but I do understand where you draw similarities from so I'm glad this story is at least staying true to the genre. If you have any questions or predictions that may be spoiler-ish then don't hesitate to PM me and ask, although if yo do guess right I still won't tell you. ;)


	9. Chapter X

I stood there, watching as the light slowly crept over the horizon. The stars started fading, hidden by the light of the earth's sun. For a moment all was tranquil, not a sound could be heard yet the chorus of hearts cried out in sadness to the single breeze that made up the collective. I listened, the voices of reason forcing its way into my heart, crying in desperation for me stop.

How could I?

I glanced at my hands, the shaking, the twitching, the murderous intent that forced me commit such crimes. My breath had become raggedy, exhausted, far from what it should be. My eyes, moved about like a tempest, looking for something to save me from this nightmare. The light had gone, replaced by a glare of red, only it was still there unseen by my scarred eyes. My hands had disappeared, replaced by weapons of destruction, only my hands hadn't left me. My breathing had stopped, only I hadn't died, I had found the truth.

The source beckoned to me.

Such a strange voice this was; understanding, calm yet full of leadership. It was pained, magnificent in its thinking yet troubled by the world around it. The body of another by my feet, waiting to be moved to its intended location.

I cried.

My rage escaped me yet again, throwing a tantrum in every direction. The sun and stars shied away in horror, the sky and souls had left me in despair.

Oh, how it wasn't fair.

My beloved friends had been with me for eons, our stories told across generations yet here I was committing such atrocities that I couldn't help feeling ashamed. The guilt made worse only by the thought of one, that person who stood on top of the rest as a pioneer. Today wasn't a day for death, it was a day for remorse. I looked back at my hands, they had steadied. By breath had become firm and my voice had returned to me.

I'm sorry.

Such an old friend would not understand yet he didn't need to. His direct approach had sometimes shocked me, yet astounded my expectations. In his memory none should have died today, that was the last bit of my sanity I would offer, the only thread of humanity I had left, my last lifeline.

Today no more blood will be spilt.

* * *

**Author Notes:**

As you can tell this is no ordinary chapter. Here our killer reflects some things, the passing of a friend, one not to just those fictional characters but all who enjoy their stories and games. Iwata inspired many, myself included. He'll be missed dearly and without him Nintendo wont quite be the same again.

Chapter 9 is on it's way, the story picking up where Chapter 8 left off.


	10. Chapter 9

The names raced through his mind as he ran, he thought of all the possibilities and narrowed it down to three people. It meant that either Diddy Kong, Donkey Kong or King Dedede would be next to die.

That was what he thought at first.

The professional bounty hunter and racer had stopped to look at his surroundings, taking into account the different numbers on the doors and the odd tiling pattern on the floors. If what he was seeing was correct then he had run into the kitchen zone of the hotel. A thought came across the Captain's mind as he opened the book and quickly flicked the pages to the newest entry, mortified to find out that a word had been spelt.

'Kong'

Captain Falcon swore. His temper gradually rose, wondering if the book itself was deliberately messing with him. He would have dashed the book against the wall when a thought occurred to him. Not only was King Dedede safe for now, the kitchen would be a likely place for the two's Kong's to search, the fruit would certainly keep them occupied for a while.

'Wait, wasn't Diddy Kong missing?' the man thought to himself, recalling the moment they had all woken up at the dining room table.

The kitchen was cold as the captain walked into the large room. A few lights were littered about, barely illuminating the area. The man was surprised to see that everything was lined perfectly; pots, pans, knives and all other utensils were perfectly stored around the room. The whole place was clean, not a speck of dirt or dust could be found anywhere. It was almost surreal to see such a place, it's slick and cold nature sent shivers up the bounty hunters spine.

"Hey, Diddy are you here?" he shouted, wondering if he'd get a response.

Of course none came.

The Captain slowed down to a crawl, walking through the kitchen as slowly as he dared, each step echoing into the dark recesses of the room. The sound became rhythmic, the sound finding it's ways into the curves and crevices of the utensils, the Captain looked at a particular set of Knives as he passed by them, the reflection of his eyes scaring him slightly. Eyes widening ever so slightly, he made his right hand into a fist and lightly knocked his forehead twice.

"Come on, you've been thorough worse," he quietly whispered to himself.

That much was true. There were times in the bounty hunters career that he had almost died, plenty of assassins had been sent after him even those he could consider close more than acquaintances having died in front of him because of his fame and enemies.

But even still this was different.

The people at risk here were more than friends to him, they were family. He had spent almost half his life working with the Smash Bros group, training with them, living with them and coming to care for them. Those reasons alone was enough to make Captain Falcon terrified. He thought back to the first murder, only a powerful person could take on Mewtwo outside of tournaments and live, let alone kill him.

This was certainly a terrifying scenario for the renowned racer.

Another chill reached the man, however this time it wasn't his fear that brought it but door he could make out in the far corner of the room. A faint mist could be seen moving through the door, the vague sensation of ice coming to the bounty hunters mind. As he reached the door he cursed his luck that there was no light to see clearly, he looked around and saw row upon row of carcasses, lined up by weight. Each one had a fair layer of frost over it, drips of water could be seen on the floor as they slowly defrosted. Captain Falcon glanced at the door, wondering why someone would leave it open, only to grit his teeth as the door slammed shut.

This made his tense up immediately.

"Who's there?" he shouted, his breath visible in the coldness of the room

The Captain tightened his fists and looked around carefully, walking backwards away from the door expecting an ambush at any moment. He tried his hardest to keep his heart rate down but something about the situation terrified him.

At that moment two things happened.

The bounty hunter had unknowingly walked into another piece of meat, the chilling sensation of frost touching the light jumper he wore unnerved him, however he was more focused on the whimper that came from behind him. Secondly, he stepped on something fragile, the crunching of something frozen quickly taking his attention away from the sound. He knelt down, picking up whatever he could that was beside his boots and grimaced when he couldn't tell what it was. He stood up, hoping the soft light that came through the door would be enough and paused when he realised what he saw.

Frozen strands of fur.

The air suddenly felt much colder than it should, Captain Falcon couldn't tell if his blood really was freezing or if his mind had started playing tricks on him. Deep down, a feeling in the pit of his stomach told him that he would regret turning around but his curiosity was as intense as frost that had started forming around his hair.

"eh..."

"Huh?" Captain Falcon almost jumped at the sound, turning around instinctively and internally swearing.

It was safe to say that what he saw was not a pretty sight.

* * *

"Quid accidit?" Wolf asked himself, still stumped by his current predicament.

The lone mercenary had been walking by himself for some time now, the area around him seemed to mimic that of a space station. Every step he took echoed down the long expansive hallways and disappeared into the darkness far beyond the space pilots superior vision. He contemplated going after the others but thought better of it, knowing that Falco would much rather start a fight than contribute to the murder mystery. Going through all his options the mercenary decided it would be best to turn around and head back, perhaps rendezvousing with one of the other groups.

Wolf turned only to be met with the darkness of space.

"Huh?" he managed to say, stupefied by the sudden change.

He instantly knew this must have been a trick, it was impossible for this change to occur but the longer he thought about it the more he realised that he was now free floating. Wolf instinctively held his breath. His fur had dropped in temperature and his vision faded.

Was he still alive?

Wolf could only question his sanity as he realised that the very process of thinking would defied that logic. One moment he could feel his arm, the power of his muscles contracting, then the next moment nothing was there. His arm, his leg, his body. All suddenly missing, yet the continual feeling of coldness was there.

Why?

* * *

**Author Notes**

Wow, a lot happened. First the site wasn't working, then I lost my work and then I'd been having errors simply uploading this document. It's been horrible to say the least, but at least I managed to upload a fragment of what I wanted. In other news, I'm currently working on a game for Wii U and PC called Project Morph. Since I'm leading development of the game, I'm in charge of managing the artists, other members of management and the overall direction od development so as you can imagine it's a whole lot of worth and I have barely ant time to write any more. It's gone to the point where I want to say I'm on a semi-hiatus until I have more free time (I don't even game now).

**Reviews and Questions**

**MockingClove:** Will definitely continue, I like this story a bit too much to stop personally. And regarding your question...well that much I can give away, but the killer may or may not implicate themselves when they talk about that scene. But if that does happen it'll be much later in the story.

**Thehobkinauthor:** Keeping the story creepy isn't too hard but I can easily change the tone by forgetting myself as I write, haha.

**pichuplayer:** pika pi pich pi (Thanks very much!)


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